Service-box lid.



A- 110 yand exact description,

l proved, lid about i 2 5- :ffo'lofthe s reader.

" one of t ie blocks.

40 ,.provided' with a c 5 0 broken by Wagons or are either lost orbroken off. If lost new .if broken oif the pieces .remaining 'must be.'drilled out. .In

- dents of Decatur, county Illlnois, have invented, certain new and usel.UNITE biTjlJihlrt AsSIGNO'RsTO n. MUELLER ai; CORPORATION or ILLiNoIs,

.Teelt whom it 'may concern: Be it known that we, HENRY lliUnLLnu,.PrnLr'P ,-MUELLEB., and ANToN C. ScnUnn- MANN,'citiZens of the UnitedStates, and resiof Macon, State of lful Improvements in Service-BoxLids; and n our preferred manner of carrying out the invention is setforth in the following full, clear, terminating with s necifying thenovelty.

, This invention reiates to water distribution, yand more especially tomains and pipes; and vits vobject is to produce a lid for service claimsparticularly fzubokes and an improved fastening device therefor.

To this end the invention consists 1n a stmcture of which one embodimentis set forth in the following specification and illus .20 tintedy in thevdrawings forming part thereof and lin whichm Alfiigure 1 is a central y.through the top of a service box and this imto be secured in place. yig. 2 is a section through the box and a side elevation ofthe lidclamped in position therein.` Fig'. 3 is a side elevation of the lid andits lock, viewed at right angles to the posi- ,.iton shownin Fig. 2.Fig. 4 is a plan view Fig'. 5 is a side elevation of Fig. 6 is a sideelevation ',of this lid and the upper end of a service box having' acylindricabor uncorrugated wall, illustrating in dotted lines how thelid will vertical section i vfit the uneven upper extremity of such abox when it has been broken off. ...As vis well known, a service box isa pipe rrunning'from the surface of the ground down to a gas or Watermain where the latter is ook, so that by removing -thelid of the servicebox the cool; is accessible by a-key from above. "'lhese boxes are ngenerally ofrough iron casting` with their walls corrugated or otherwiseroughened,

c .Aa-and the are usually closed with a cast iron ex erience hasshownmust be held rass screws to prevent rusting. These screws areoftenstolen for their metal, and inman'y'insta'nces the covers become freightand the screws lid whic in place by ones must be supplied, and

Specification of Letters Patent.

HENRY MUELLER, PHILIP MUELLER, AND AN'lU SCHUERMANN. (')lf lllltd'liilt,ILLINOIS,

MANUVUIURTN( (lOWlAN l',

'SERVICE-BOX LID.

Patented Mai-0h23, 190e.

Application filed November 19. 1907. Serial No. l102,915.

any event, while the lid is absent the box r liccoines iilled with dirt,reiulcring` it impossible to gain access to the cock until the entirebox is cleaned out. In seine instances the accident which breaks the lidalso breaks a piece from the upper end of the box so that it becomesnecessary to supply a new section to the box tobring; its top level withthe surface ofthe ground. ln cases where the grade is changed, if it isloweredit becomes necessary to shorten the service box alreadyinstalled,or if it is raised it becomes necessary to add a section to such box tobring it to the new level. Said shortening is usually done b breakingoff the top of the box or section a ready inthe ground, as with a blowby a hammer or chisel, and when broken o' the` irregular. l/Vhen anewseetion is added it is often fitted telescopica-Hy around'or withinthe box already in place, and the two parts soon heroine one by theadhesive effect of their corrosion. These variousl conditions havecreated a demand for a service box lid capable of being quickly put inplace on boxes or sections of most any pattern,v and it is to moet thatdemand that the present inl vention is designed. The latter consists inl a lid having a wide annular groove in its underside so as to adapt itto the' upper ends l of boxes or box sections which may vary somewhat indiameter or which may not be strictly round, and the width and depth-'ofthe groovcnables the device to be used as a l repair vlid as on boxeswhose upper ends are l irregular, as shown in Fig. 6. The invention alsoconsists in a fasteningl device depending from the lid'proper and ladapted to be operated from above so that l its` blocks or jaws willengage the interior of i the box or section to which the device isapplied, wl'iatever the shape of said interior or l of the upperextremity. teierring now to the al:companyingl draw,- i ings, the letterA designates t ie'scrvlcebox l whose wall is sonic-what uneven as shownal l A, and lf is a shoulder extension at'its upper end or mouth. i f il B is-the lid proper consisting oi a plate, i iel'erably having ainn'roundinT depending ilange E and withl its center l epressed as bestseen in Fig. 1 and spaced considerably 'from the flange so as to leave aWideannular loo . AIroni coming oil'. l0

groove t5 to adapt the lid to a smaller box than that shown in thedrawings. In the top of the lid is a cavity D' to receivel the head of ascrew C which passes loosely through the lid and screws into a holell ina spreader Vf, its lower extremity bearing washer M below the spreaderland being headed or upset as at J to prevent thel washer Y l)ependingfrom the depressed portion of the plate are guides, 'here shown asconsisting ol'two pairs ol' ears S, an-d through each pair is a pin li..Two blocks O are provided'which are duplicates o'l' each Other,and eachblock stands between the members ot' one pair ol'l ears and has an ovalopening L loosely embracing the pin li. The outer edge N oi' each blockis straight and vertical, while its inneredge is straight ll'or adistance down from its top i and then inclined outward as at O2. lu'achend ot the spreader ll' is forked at N" and beveled as at Nt between theprongs'ol' the fork. The lower end ol' each block starnls between theprongs at that end ol' the speader, and the inclined lace bears againstthe inclined face O'Z as will beunderstood.

All parts are preferably ol' cast .iron excepting that the screw C maybe of brass to prevent rustingr in place, yet it cannot be stolen outoll the lid because its lower end l ,is upsei.

Fig. 6 illustrates how a box or box section which .is broken ofl' andhas an irregular upper end .U can be closed by this improved lid B sothat. its lange E completely hides said irregular end, and this Viewelaborates the adaptability ot' the invention as a repair lid 'l'or thepurpose oi' repairing; service boxes that hare. become broken purposelyor othe.r\\'is..

`ln assembling; the parts oi' this improved device the blocks areI firstput in place and the pins inserted so as-to prevent their dislodgmentl'ron: the `guides in the ordinary handling ol' the lid, the spreader isthen put in place and the screw inserted through the. hole in the plate.and threaded through the hole in the spreader, and finally the washer isa )plied and the lower end oll the screw headed beneath it as by being;upset slightly. It' it should be desired to separate the parts,

the upset portion is iiled oilI and the washer removed, alte-r which thescrew can be wilh-' drawn from the spreader, and ol' course it can belifted out of the hole in` the late through which it is swiveled; andeither block can be removed by withdrawing its pin.

-In operation, this improved lid is applied. to the top of the servicebox er box section, and tits over Vthe flanc" F it' one exists or restsupon the upper en' if there be no flange. The wide groove G lpermits thelid to be applied to a smaller pipe than shown, and

allows for any unevenness or inaccuracy which may exist in roughcastinfrs. The lid is applied with the parts in t e position shown inFig. l, after which the screw is turned to canse the spreader W to rise,and in doing so its inclined faces N2 engage the inclined laces (Il ot'the blocks and bear the latter radially outward until their straight.outer 'laces l\ contact with the inside ot' the service box o1.' boxsection as shown in Fig. 2. .During this movement the upper ends ol' theblocks are guided along the bottoni ol the deiiressed portion oll theplate and their .bodies are `guided by the ears-the looseness ol' the.openings li on the pins K permittingwaud with a Servicebox of the usualsize the outer 'laces otl the. blockscontact with the wall ol' the boxat a time when the spreader hasv reached a point about inidway otl theheight ot' the blocks. The lat.-

i eral impulse ol the spreader is therefore so .applied to the blocl-:sthat 1i one or both 01' them should strike a corrugation A or otheruneyenness within the. box they could cant slightly as the constructionof the guides and the size ol' the apertures permit. The screw isfinally given an additional turn to tighten itA in place so that itcannot be unscrewed by hand or through vibration. When it is desired togain access to the interior of the Servicebox it is only necessary toapply a proper wrench to the head ol'lthe screw and unscrew itsulliciently to loosen the parts, alter which the lid can be lii'tedofi.

What is claimed as new is:

l. A service box lid consisting of a plate, ears in pairs dependingtherefrom, and a pin through the members ol each pair; combine withblocks fitting' loosely and slidably between said members and havingroval openings engagingr said pins, the inner edges of said blocks beinerinclined ont- 'ardly, a spreader between the blocks, and means formoyine the spreader vertically from a point abo/vlc the plate.

2. A seryice box lid consisting oi'4 a plate, ears in pairs dependingtherefrom, and a pin through the members ol' each pair; combined withblocks slidable radially between said members aad hayingoval openingsengaging; said pins, the .inner edges of said blocks bgine' inclinedo1.it\\'ardly and their outeijedges'straight. a spreader .having itsein; rbevelei'l and engaging'v the inclined edge'Q/ol Ithe blocks, andvmeans for moving thegpreader vtrticaliv from a point above the plate.

2). A service box lid consisting ol: a plate, ears in pairs dependingtherefrom, and a pin tlnough the members ot' each pair; combined withblocks 'fitting' loosely` between said members and having oval openingsengaging said pins, the inner edges of said blocks being inclinedoutwardly, a spreader between the bloelis, and a Ascrew forth.

swiveled through the plate and threaded] through the spreader, for thepurpose set i 4. A service box lid consisting of a plate, i and ears inpairs depemling therefrom; combined with bloels 'litting slidablybeneath said plate and loosely between the members ol' said pairs and'having their inner edges inclined outwardly, means l'or preventing thedislodginent ol' the4 bloelisl a spreader having forhs at. its endsengaging said blocks und beveled l'nees between the prongs of the forkscontacting with the said inclined edges, and means lor moving thespreader' \'ertieall from a pointl above the plate.

5. A.,servie. box lid eonsisting ol' a plate, and ears in pairsdepending therefrom; combined with blocks fitting loosely and slidnbl)vbetween the members of s'aid pairs and having their inner edges inclinedOutwardly, means for preventing the dislodgment of the blocks, aspreader having forks at its ends engaging said blocks and beveled facesbetween the prongs of the forks coni taeting with the said inclinededges', and a screw .swiveled through the plate and threaded through thespreader, for the purpose sety l'orth.

in testimony` whereof we have hereunto subscribed our signatures, this2nd day of November. 1).,1907.

HENK Y MUELLER. PlIlLiP MUELLER. ANTON C. SCHUERMANN Witnesses:

Ymeixm HAMILTON, JonN L. WADDLL.

